Machines for driving reinforcing rings into the toplift receiving faces of wood heels



0a. 6, 1959 E E mm 2,907,037

MACHINES FOR DRIVING REINFORCING RINGS INTO THE] TOPLIFT RECEIVING FACES OF WOOD HEELS Filed Feb. 24, 1958 & Sluts-Shut l 102 G6a8 6 104 g 44- f \50 166 Oct. 6, 1959 E E JOINER I 2,907,037

MACHINES FOR DRIVING REINFORCING RINGS INTO THE TOPLIFT RECEIVING FACES OF WOOD HEELS Fi led Feb. 24, 1958 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 6, 1959 E. E. JOINER 2,907,037

MACHINES FOR DRIVING REINFORCING RINGS INTO THE TOPLIFT RECEIVING FACES OF WOOD HEELS Filed Feb. 24. 1958 I 4 Snow-She 3 A y 114 1 11 d 135 136 Oct. 6, 1959 E. E. JOINER 2,907,037

MACHINES FOR DRIVING REINFDRCING RINGS INTO THE TOPLIF T RECEIVING FACES OF WOOD HEELS Filed Feb 24, 1958 4 Shuts-Shoot 4 United States Patent MACHINES FOR DRIVING REINFORCING RINGS INTO THE TOPLIFT RECEIVING FACES OF WOOD HEELS Edgar E. Joiner, Andover, Mass., assignor to Fred W.

Mears Heel Company, Inc., Lawrence, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application February 24, 1958, Serial No. 717,255 Claims. (Cl. 1--1) This invention relates to machines for use in the manufacture of heels and more specifically to machines for driving reinforcing rings into the toplift receiving faces of wood heels.

Inthe manufacture of wood heels it is common practice to attach toplifts to the toplift receiving faces or lower ends of said heels by the use of nails. Toplifts which are secured to heels, especially of the Louis high style type, have to be replaced frequently during the lifetime ofshoes to which the heels are attached, there being a tendency for the lower ends of said heels to split during the attachment of said toplifts to the heels.

With the foregoing in view it has been proposed to drive a reinforcing ring into and flush with a toplift receiving face of'the wood heel, the nails being driven in toed-in relation into the toplift and the portion of the heel included in said ring which insures against the heel being split.

The illustrative ring may be made of steel or of any other suitable metal, one end of the circular wall of the ring having substantial thickness in order that driving pressure may be applied thereto and the other end of the wall having the form of a sharp circular edge so that the ring can be driven, edge first, into the heel. The thickness of the wall of the reinforcing ring is such that the ring can be driven into the toplift receiving face of the heel without any danger of splitting said heel, the outer wall of saidring being commonly arranged in tangentialvrelation to a central portion of a transverse line of the lower end portion of the breast of the heel. In order to accommodate different sizes and styles of heels the diameter of the rings may be different, the size of the ring being such that said ring shall be spaced from the side and rear surfaces of the heel by distances great enough to insure against the danger of splitting said heel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a machine which will quickly and effectively drive heel reinforcing rings of different sizes into the toplift receiving faces of wood heels. With the above and other objects in view the illustrative machine is provided with means for positioning a heel, a driver movable heightwise of said heel and in accordance with a feature of the present invention, meansfor delivering a ring to a predetermined waiting position with relation to the toplift receiving face of the heel, and power means for operating the driver to cause thering to be driven into said face of the heel. The machine is provided with a support for the heel and gages for positioning the heel heightwise, lengthwise and widthwise in the machine, the machine being fully automatic so that by depressing a single treadle the operator causes a ring to be delivered to and inserted in the toplift receiving face of the heel.

The present invention consists in the above and other novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention selected for purposes of illustration, said invention being fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

2,907,037 Patented Oct. 6, 1959 In the drawings:

Fig. l is a view showing the illustrative machine, partly broken away, in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the portion of the machine shown in Fig. 1; 1

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a reinforcing ring which is driven into the toplift receiving face of a wood heel by the use of the illustrative machine;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a heel into the toplift receiving face of which the reinforcing ring has been driven;

Fig. 5 is a cross section through the lower end of a finished heel showing the reinforcing ring embedded in the heel and a toplift which has been attached to the heel by the use of nails;

Fig. 6 is a view on the line VTVI of Fig. 2 showing in detail a ring transfer unit of the machine;

Figs. 7 and 8 are views on the lines VIIVII and VIIIVIII respectively of Fig. 6; i

Fig. 9 is a plan view showing heel centralizing mechanism of the machine;

Fig. 10 is a sideelevation, partly in section, of a portion of the machine in the process of driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of the heel; and

Fig. 11 is a schematic flow chart for use in describing the operation of the machine. 7

The illustrative machine is described with reference to driving a reinforcing ring 20 into a toplift receiving face 22 of a high style Louis wood heel 24. As above explained, in the attachment of a toplift 26 to the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24 by the use of nails 28 there is a tendency to split the lower end of the heel. Accordingly, it is customary to drive the reinforcing rings 20 into the toplift receiving faces 22 of the heels 24, the nails 28 relied upon to attach the toplifts 26 to the heels being driven into said heels in toed-in relation and passing through the rings as illustrated in Fig. 5, thereby insuring that the lower or toplift ends of the heels shall not be split during the attachment of the original or repair toplifts to the heels.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the reinforcing ring 20 has cylindrical outer and inner surfaces 30, 31 respectively and a conical inner surface 32 forming a sharp edge 34 with said outer surface. The angle formed by the surfaces 30, 32 of the ring 20 is such that the ring may be quickly and effectively embedded in the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24 by the use of a cylindrical driver 36 operating against a planar ring-shaped surface 38 of the ring until said surface is flush with said face.

The machine comprises a support 40 upon which the heel 24 may be quickly positioned and secured, a raceway 42 along which the reinforcing rings are fed by gravity from a hopper (not shown) and a transfer unit 44 which is adapted successively to move the reinforcing rings 20 supplied from the raceway to a waiting position above a ring guide or 'thimble 46 which is supported by a platform 47 and is provided with a cylindrical bore 48 through which each of the rings is driven into the heel by the driver 36 actuated by power operated means h'ereinafter described. The driver 36 and the cylindrical bore 48 of the ring guide 46 have a common axis 51. The cylindrical bore 48 of the ring guide 46 may be described as having an upper or entrance end and a lower or exit end.

The machine has a multipart fabricated main frame 50 which is secured to a'bench- (not shown). The heel support 40 comprises a mount 52 having a threaded shank which is vertically slidable in a recess 53 of the main frame 50 and is movable into different vertical operating positions on said frame by the use of a nut 54 threaded upstanding flange of said mount and extends through an arcuate slot 66 in the arcuate segment 60 of the table.

Secured to and forming part of the table 62 is a serrated block '76 which is engaged by the attaching face 74 of the heel 24 positioned on the support 40. The construction and arrangement of the support 40 is such that the table 62 may be secured in different adjusted positions upon the mount 52 about an axis '70 (Fig. 10) which extends transversely of the heel 24 positioned upon the block 76 and which passes through a point of intersection of the attaching face 74 of the heel 24 and a heightwise axis 72 of the shank of the heel.

The table 62 has also secured to its a breast gage or bar 78 which is engaged by the lip portion of the breast of the heel 24 mounted on the block 76 and is initially adjustable along a rectilinear guideway 80 of the table 62, said breast gage being secured to the table in its adjusted position by a screw 82 threaded into the table and passing through a slot 84 in said gage.

It will be noted that in the illustrative wood heel 24 (Fig. 4) the ring is arranged in substantially tangential relation to a substantially planar lower or toplift end of the breast of the heel and accordingly it is desirable that said lower end portion of said breast positioned in the machine by said support 40 shall be arranged in approximately tangential relation to the bore 48 of the ring guide 46. Accordingly, there is provided a breast gage or abutment 85 which is engaged by the lower end portion of the breast of the heel and is secured to the platform 47 by screws 87 which are threaded into said platform and pass through slots 89 formed in this abutment. In order to insure against the abutment 85 being engaged by the reinforcing ring 26 as it is driven into the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24, said abutment is provided with a bevel surface 94, a work-engaging face 93 of the abutment being spaced slightly from the ring driven into the heel. The bar 78 may be described as being adapted to be engaged by the heel seat end of the breast of the heel and the face 93 of the abutment 85 may be described as lying substantially in a line tangent to the bore 48 of the ring guide 46 and as being spaced slightly from an exit end of said bore and being adapted to be engaged by a portion of the breast of the heel spaced from but located adjacent to the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24.

The heel 24 is centralized upon the support 40 by a pair of fingers 86 which are pivotally mounted on shoulder screws 88 threaded into a bracket of the main frame 50 and having formed on them teeth 90 meshing with each other, said fingers being constructed and arranged for equal and opposite movements with respect to a heightwise median plane 92 of the heel support and of the heel positioned by said support. The fingers 86 are normally urged to their closed positions by a spring 94, the inner limits of movement of the forward ends of .said fingers being limited, when there is no work in the machine, by the engagement of a projection 96 of the right of the fingers (Fig. 9), with a stop screw 98 adjustably secured to the aforementioned bracket of the main frame 50. The forward ends of the fingers 86 are provided with cam faces 100 which extend away from each other as they extend forwardly, the construction and arrangement being such that the fingers may be cammed apart under pressure of the heel therewith.

The table 62 may be initially swung into different positions upon the mount 52 in accordance with the rake of the heel, the construction and arrangement being such that the heel in engagement with the serrated block 76 4 r and the breast gage 78 shall have its planar toplift receiving face 22 disposed at right angles to the common axis 51 of the driver 36 and the bore 48 of the ring guide 46. The initial adjustment of the mount 52 upon the main frame 50 is such that the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24 positioned in the machine is spaced very slightly from the bottom surface of the ring guide or thimble 46. As above explained, the breast gage or abutment is initially positioned upon the platform 46 with the plane of its surface 93 arranged substantially tangent to the bore 48 of the guide ring 46 and disposed at right angles to the heightwise median plane 92 of the positioned heel 24 and the centralizing fingers 86.

In the positioning of the heel 24 in the'machine the operator slides the inverted heel over the serrated block 76 until the lip portion of the breast of the heel engages the breast gage 78, the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel sliding beneath the ring .guide'orthimble 46 as it is centralized by the fingers 86 until the breast of the heel engages the face 93 of the breast abutment 85. Because of the slight variations in the different heels of the same size and/ or style it may be desirable to tilt the heel slightly forward so that the plane of the rim of the attaching face 74 of the heel is inclined slightly to the plane of the tips of the teeth of the serrated block 76. As the ring 20' is driven into the toplift receiving face of the heel 24 the heel is impaled upon the tips of the teeth of the block upon which it rests thus insuring against the heel slipping away from the breast gage 78 and the abutment 85. Rings '20 of different diameters may be used in accordance with the size and/or style of the heel and the position of the ring lengthwise of -the toplift receiving face of the heel may be varied by initially adjusting the operating posit-ions of the breast gage 78 and the abutment 85.

The driver 36 is slidingly mounted for vertical movement in a guideway 102 of the main frame 50 and has secured to it a collar 36a which normally is held in engagement with the frame by a spring 104 opposite ends of which bear respectively against a head of a driver and the main frame. Downward movement of the driver 36 under the action of an impeller unit 105, hereinafter described, is limited by the engagement of the leading or work-engaging face of the driver with the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24. .In order to insure that in the event that there is no work in the machine and the driver is accidentally operated said driver shall not strike hereinafter described initially adjustable stationary portions of the machine beneath it, the main frame 50 has mounted on it a sleeve 107 which surrounds the spring 104 associated with the driver 36 and is engaged by the head of the driver to limit downward movement thereof.

The transfer unit 44 comprises the above-mentioned platform 47 which is secured by screws 108 to the main frame 50 and has formed on it a stepped circular recess 110 adapted fittingly to receive the thimble or guide ring 46 having the above-mentioned bore 48 through which the reinforcing ring 20 is moved by the driver 36. The transfer unit 44 also comprises front and rear guide plates 114, 116 forming, together with a flat upper face 118 of the platform 47 a guideway 120 along which the reinforcing rings 20 are moved by a plunger 122, the construction and operation of which will be hereinafter described. The front guide plate 114 is adjustably secured to the platform 47 by screws 111 which are threaded into the platform and pass through slots 113 in this guide plate. The rear guide plate 116 is adjustably secured to the platform 47 by screws threaded into the plat form and passing through slots 117 formed in this guide plate.

Also secured by screws 124 to the platform 47 is an end plate 126 provided with a planar side face 128 which ,forms, with vertical faces 130, 132 respectively of the front and rear guide plates 114, 116 and with the upper face 118 of the platform 47, channels along which ring positioning detents or slides 134 are slidable against the action of the leaf springs 136 secured to the platform. The ring positioning detents or slides 134 are provided with depending flanges 134a which limit movement of the detents or slides toward each other when the driver 36 has been removed from the machine and no ring 20 is in its waiting position between the slides. The ring guide or thimble 46 is rigidly secured in its operating position in the recess 110 of the platform 47 by a screw 138. In order to form with the front guide plate 114 a guideway 131 for receiving lower flange portions 133 of the plunger 122 there is provided a plate 135 which is adj-ustably secured by screws 137 to the platform 47.

The platform 47 is provided with a notch 140 and the rear guide plate 116 is spaced from the plate 135 in order to receive the lower end of the raceway 42 which is secured by screws 142 to a plate secured to and forming part of the main frame 50, the lower end of a ring passage 144 of the raceway being in register with the upper face 118 of the platform 47 as best shown in Fig. 8. It will be noted that when the rings 20 slide by gravity onto the upper face 118 of the platform 47 they move under an overhanging shelf 114a of the front guide plate 114 and against a work-engaging end of a slide 146 movable in a rectilinear guideway 148 of this guide plate, the slide being urged rearwardly along the guideway by a leaf spring 150 secured to the platform. As each of the rings 20 from the raceway 42 enters the guideway 120 it engages the rear end of the slide 146 which is inclined to the rectilinear guideway 148 thereby preventing movement of the ring to the right as viewed in Fig. 6 along the guideway 120 until such time as it is moved by the plunger 122 to its waiting position between the positioning detents or slides 134. The jaws of the detents or slides 134 comprise cam faces 154 which converge as they extend toward the bore 48 of the ring guide 46 and opposing concave faces 156 which, after the reinforcing ring 20 has been moved between them by the plunger 122, close in on the ring to position said ring with its axis in approximate alinement with the common axis 51 of the driver 36 and the bore 48 of the ring guide 46. The plunger 122 is moved to the right as viewed in Figs. 2 and 6 until the ring 20 has been moved to within about of its waiting position, movement of the plunger being then reversed and the concave faces 156 of the slides 134 closingin on the ring to position it in its waiting position in the machine ready to be operated upon by the driver 36.

The plunger 122 has an upstanding portion secured to one end of a rod 160 mounted for sliding movement in a cylinder 162 which forms part of an air motor 163 and is secured to a bracket of the main frame 50, said rod being fixed to a piston 164 operating in a bore 166 of the cylinder. The cylinder 162 is provided with ports 168, 170 connected by lines 172, 174 to ports 176, 178 respectively of a control valve 180. The plunger 122 has secured to its upper end an angle plate 182 carrying a poppet valve 184 comprising a cylinder 185 which has a port 186 connected by a line 188 to a port 190 of the control valve 180 and which has a port 191 connected to exhaust. The cylinder 185 of the poppet valve 184 is provided with a bore 192 in which a piston 194 is slidable, said piston having a rod 196 secured to it and being normally held in engagement with a face 198 of this valve by a spring 200.

The control valve 180 comprises a cylinder 181 having a bore 202 in which a multispool plunger 203 is slidable, this plunger, when the machine has been at rest for a substantial period and air under pressure has been turned ofl, being held substantially in its central or balanced position shown in Fig. 11 by springs 204, 206 of equal strength. The cylinder 181 of the control valve 180 has a port 208 which is open to a face 210 of the plunger 203, a face 212 of this plunger being open to 6. the port 190 of this cylinder. The control valve 180 is also provided with ports 214, 216 and 218 which are open to an air pressure line 220 connected to a port 222 of a treadle controlled solenoid valve 224 and is also provided with ports 226, 227 open to exhaust.

The driver 36 is depressed by the impeller unit which comprises acylinder 230 secured to the main frame 50 of the machine and having sliding in a bore 232 thereof a piston 234 secured to an impeller 236 adapted to depress the driver 36. The cylinder 230 has upper and lower ports 238, 240 and bearing against the piston 234 and the lower end of the bore is a spring 242 for constantly urging the piston and accordingly the impeller to raised positions. The port 240 of the cylinder 230 is open to exhaust and the port 238 of the cylinder is connected by a line 244 to a port 246 of the solenoid valve 222 which comprises a cylinder 248 in a bore 250 of which is slidable a piston 252 which, when the machine is at rest, is forced against a face 254 of this. cylinder by a spring 256. The cylinder 248 is also provided with an exhaust port 258.

Power for energizing a coil 260 of the solenoid valve 224 is supplied through a circuit 262 which is normally open by reason of a normally open switch 264 being held open by a spring 266. In order to operate the machine through its cycle the operator swings a treadle 268, which is operatively connected to the switch 264, clockwise as viewed in Fig. 11 to close'the switch thereby energizing the coil 260 and accordingly moving the piston into engagement with a face 270 of the cylinder to cause air under pressure in the line 220 to be available for a face 272 of the piston 234 with the result that the ring 20 positioned between the jaws of the positioning detents or slides 134 is driven into the toplift receiving face 22 of the heel 24 positioned in the machine. The pressure of air in the line 220 is such that downward movement of the driver 36 terminates when the work-engaging face of the driver 36 engages the top lift receiving face 22 of the heel 24.

Pivotally mounted upon a pin 274 carried by the impeller 236 is a latch 276 which is normally held by a spring (not shown), for example, in its horizontal position shown in Fig. 11 with a face 278 thereof in engagement with the impeller. Mounted on a bracket forming part of the main frame 50 is a poppet valve 280 comprising a cylinder 282 having a bore 284 in which is slidable a piston 285 having a cam 286 secured thereto, said cylinder having a port 288 open to exhaust and a port 290 connected by a line 292 to the port 208 of the cylinder 181 of the control valve 180. As the impeller 236 is lowered the latch 276 engages the cam 286 and is swung on the impeller 236 to its dash-line position shown in Fig. .11, said latch being moved back to its full-line position after it has moved below said cam. When the operator removes his foot from the treadle 268 after the ring 20 has been driven into the heel, the switch 264 opens in response to pressure of the spring 266 thereby deenergizing the coil 260 of the solenoid valve 224 with the result that the piston 252 under the action of the spring 256 moves back to its full line position shown in Fig. 11 against the face 254 of the cylinder 248 thereby opening the face 272 of the piston 234 of the impeller unit to exhaust, the spring 242 causing the impeller 236 to move to its raised starting position and accordingly the driver 36 under the action of the spring 104 moving to its raised position in which the collar 36a secured to the driver is in engagement with the main frame 50.

During upward or retractive movement of the impeller 236 the latch 276 engages a face 294 of the cam 286 with the result that the piston 285 is moved along the bore 284 of the cylinder 282 to a position in which the port 290 said cylinder is open to the exhaust port 288 causing the face 210 of the plunger 203 of the control valve to be moved into engagement with an opposing face 296 of the cylinder 181 of this valve, When this occurs air under high pressure is-available fon'the-face 298 of the piston 164 and air on the othenside'or' face'-300- of'the piston exhaustsi through the port 22F causing theplunger 122 to-transferthe=ring 20, whichhasmoved-down from the raceway 42" into the guideway 1 20, to-a waiting posi' tion between the jaws of=the positioning detents-or slides When=the: lunger IZI-hasmoved the ring 1'20 to within" of its waiting' positiombetween; the positioning slides-l34 the rod 19'6 of the poppet valve 184, by reason of its engagement with the main frameStI of the machine, has moved the'piston 194 into engagementwith a shoulder 302 of the cylinder 185 of the: poppet valve 184, thus-causing the exhaustport 1-91 of this :valve to be open to" the; face 2-12 of the multispool= plunger 203' of the control valve 180- with thelresult thati thisplunger by spring actionimoves back: to its neutral position shown in Fig.1 l.and"accordingly-high:pressureair becomes availableifor the face:210 ofithisplunger: Inview ofthe foregoingiit willi beapparent that the face 2120f the. plunger 203 is moved into engagementv with a face: 304 of the cylinder. 181 of the control valve 180 causing high pressure air: to be available for the face 300 of the piston 184-=of the air motor163 and the face 298 to be open to exhaust through the port 227 of the control valve and accordingly the plunger 122 to be returned to its retracted or idle position-shownin Figs. 2, 6 and 11. The operator then removes from the'machine the heel 24 into the. toplift receiving face 22 of which the ring 29 has been driven.

Having thus describedmy invention, what I claim as new-anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. ha machine for driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of a heel, means for supporting and positioningthe heel, a driver movable heightwise of the heel, a transfer unit, a. raceway for supplying a ring to the transfer unit, said transfer unit comprising mechanism for moving the ring which has been delivered to this unit to a waitingposition between the toplift receiving faceof the heel'and the driver, power means for operating-the. driver to force the ring which is in its waiting position into. the toplift receiving face of the heel, and power means responsive to movement of said first-named power means for actuating said mechanism.

2. In a machine for driving a reinforcing ring into the topliftireceivingface ofva heel, means for supporting and positioning the. heel, a driver movable heightwise of the heel, a raceway alongwhich the reinforcing ring is fed, a transfer unit comprising a guideway adapted to receive the ring from the raceway, a plunger for moving the ring along the guideway and a pair of slides movable transversely of the guideway and adapted to grip the ring: moved along said. guideway by the plunger and to position it in a waiting position between the driver and the heel, power means for operating the driver to cause the ring; in said waiting position to be driven into the toplift receiving face of the heel, and power means operative in timed-relation with the driver for operating the plunger.

3. In a machine for driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of a heel, a ring guide having a bore,-.means for positioning a heel with relation to said guide,,a driver movable generally heightwise of the heel and through said bore, a pair of positioning members which are mounted for yielding movement away from each other and have jaws adapted to receive between them in a waitingposition a reinforcing ring which is to be driven into the heel, said driver being adapted to limit movement of the positioning members toward each other wherebyto position the ring with relation to the driver and said bore, means for delivering the reinforcing ring to the-positioning members, and means for operating the driver to cause the ring to be driven through said bore and into the heel from its waiting position.

4.. In a machine; for; drivingza reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of-aheel, a driver, a=transfer having'a guideway, means fordeliveringsa'id' ring to the. guideway ofsaid unit, a guide'having a bore-which'has a diameterslightly greater than-thereof said ring; a pair of ringpositioning detents having jaws=arranged at one end of said b'ore, meansfor positioning the heel iwith itstoplift-receiving facearranged adjacent to-the other endof saidbore, a plunger for moving the: ringalongthe said bore intothe toplift receivingface of the heel, and

power means operative in timedrelationwith the driverfor operating the plunger.

5. In a machine for driving a reinforcing ring into a toplift receiving face of a heel, a ring guide having a bore, aheelgage for supporting and positioning the heel with itstoplift receiving face arranged adjacent to an exit end of said bore, said gage comprising ablockhaving a serrated face adapted to be'engaged by the median portion of the attaching face of the heel and a bar adapted to=be engaged by tlie breast of theheel, a pair: of slides having jaws arranged adjacent to an en trance end-of the-bore, a driver whichispositioned adjacent to said jawsand'which ismovable generally height-- wise of: the heel andis" adapted to be engaged by said jaws,-resilient means forforcing the jawsofsaid slides against the driver, power mechanism for moving the driver. through-the bore to'drive the ring into-thetoplift receiving 'face of the heel, and power means responsive to'operation of said mechanism for automatically delivering said ring to a waitingiposition between the jaws of the driver.

6. In amachinefor driving a reinforcing ring into a topliftreceiving' face of a heel, a ring guide having a cylindrical bore which has an-axis and entrance and exit ends and which=is-of'a diameter slightly greater than the outside diameter of said ring, a heelgage for supporting and positioningthe-heel with its toplift receiving face arranged'adjacentto the exit end of said bore, said gage comprising a block having a-serrated face adapted'to be engaged by the median-portion of the attaching face of the heel and-'a bar adapted to be engaged by the lip portion of the breast: of the heel, a cylindrical driver which has an axis coincident with the-axis of said bore and is movable lengthwise of its axis and which has-a driving face the outside diameter of which is slightly less than the outside diameter of the ring, a pairofjaws arranged adjacent to the entrance end of the bore, resilient means for forcing the jawsagainst the driver whenthere' is no ring between the jaws, means for delivering the ring to a waiting position between the jaws whereby to move one or more of the jaws away from the driver and substantially tocentralize the axis of the ring with relation to the common axes of the driver and the bore, power mechanism for moving the driver lengthwise of the axis into the bore and slightly'beyond the exit end of thebore whereby to'drive the ringintothe' toplift receiving face of the heel, andpower means responsive to operation-of said mechanism for delivering the ring to said waiting position.

7. In a machine for, driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of a heel, a guide having a bore through which the ring may be moved anda pair of yielding detents provided with opposed jaws for receiving and positioning said-reinforcing ring at its entrance end of said bore, means for supporting and'positioninga heel with a toplift receiving facethereof. located adjacent and in opposed relation-with an exit end of the bore, means comprising a transfer unit for delivering the ring to the jaws of the detents,a driver which is-movable generally height-wise of the heel and is adapted to limit movement of the jaws of said detents toward each other, and means for moving the driverbetween'the jaws'of the detents and into and beyond said bore to drive the ring positioned by said jaws into the toplirt receiving face of the heel.

8. In a machine for driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of a heel, a guide unit having a bore through which said ring may be moved and having a pair of slides which are yieldingly movable away from each other and are provided with opposed jaws'for receiving and positioning said ring adjacent to an entrance end of said bore, means for supporting and positioning a heel with a toplift receiving face thereof located adjacent to an exit end of the bore and disposed at substantially right angles to the lengthwise dimension of said bore, means comprising a transfer unit having a guideway into which the reinforcing ring is fed and a plunger for moving said ring along said guideway and between the jaws of said detents, a driver, power means for moving the driver between the jaws of the detents and through the bore of the guide unit to drive the ring into the toplift receiving face of the heel, and power means operative in timed relation with the driver for operating the plunger of the transfer unit.

9. In a machine for driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift receiving face of a heel, a transfer unit comprising a guideway, means for delivering" said ring to the guideway, a driver, a guide unit having a bore through which the ring may be moved by the driver and comprising a pair of positioning slides which have opposed jaws and are yieldingly movable away from each other and movement of which toward each other is limited by said driver, a transfer unit comprising a plunger for delivering the ring to said jaws comprising opposed cam faces, which are engaged by the ring moved along the guideway by said plunger, and opposed cavities adapted to position the ring in constantly concentric relation with the bore of said guide unit adjacent to an entrance end of and over said bore, means for supporting and positioning the heel with its toplift receiving face located adjacent and in opposed relation to an exit end of the bore of said guide, and power means for moving the driver between the jaws of the slides and into and beyond said bore whereby to drive the reinforcing ring controlled by said guide into the toplift receiving face of the heel.

10. In a machine for driving a reinforcing ring into the toplift face of a heel, a ring guide having a bore, a heel gage for supporting and positioning a heel with its toplift receiving face arranged adjacent to and opposite one end of said bore, said gage comprising a block having a serrated face adapted to be engaged by the median portion of the attaching face of the heel, a bar adapted to be engaged by the heel seat end of the breast of the heel and an abutment having a face Which lies substantially in a plane tangent to said bore and is spaced slightly from said one end of the bore and which is adapted to be engaged by a portion of the breast of the heel spaced from but located adjacent to the toplift receiving face of the heel, a driver, a pair of ring positioning and retaining jaws arranged adjacent to the other end of the bore, power means for delivering the ring to a waiting position between the jaws, resilient means for constantly forcing the jaws toward the driver and, when there is no ring between them, into forced engagement with the driver, and power mechanism for moving the driver into and slightly beyond said one end of the bore whereby to drive the ring into the toplift receiving face of the heel, said power means being responsive to operation of said power mechanism for automatically delivering nails to said waiting position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,184,073 Choate May 23, 1916 

